Read The Half Blood Luna by The Black Daisy
Chapter 54
Ella’s POV:
A minute of silence fills the place as they both stare at us in shock. I couldn’t help but notice that Sara’s shock was brief, like she was expecting it but not that fast. While Joseph was looking at us both with a hard expression on his face. It made me so nervous.
He finally said tightly to me “Do you realize what that means Ella? Klaus needs to have a child from you. Are you sure about this?”
“Yes, that is the whole reason we are getting married. We made a deal with each other, I carry his child and after that, we both live our own lives separately. We both do not want a relationship, and the only people who will know the real deal is you two. To the rest of the pack, our marriage is real in every aspect.”
“Whose idea was this?” he looks pointedly at alpha Klaus as he carries on in anger “Don’t you think that Ella has been through enough? To put that kind of pressure on her is not fair to her at all, Klaus. Besides, she is still underage.”
“It was my idea Joseph. I offered myself to him. He didn’t even tell me about his situation with the elders. I found out about it on my own and made him an offer. He said no at the beginning. But after a while we both realized that it was the only way. And I turned eighteen yesterday. I am officially an adult,” I found myself defending him fiercely.
I was so surprised at myself. Who would have thought, a day has come where I was defending alpha Klaus now.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed his shocked expression when I jumped to his defense. He came to the same conclusion I just did.
Joseph was looking at me softly as he said, “Ella, I know why you are doing this. How many times do I have to tell you that you shouldn’t carry your father’s sins on your shoulders? If you do this, if you marry him, you will…” he couldn’t continue as he shook his head in disapproval.
I knew what he wanted to say. I will have to have s*e*x with him.
“The first step is getting married Joseph. The elders gave alpha Klaus a very short window for marriage. But they gave him a full year to bear a child of his own. We are not going to do anything right away. We will just try to get used to each other first. The rest will become easier with time,” I rea*s*sured him, while rea*s*suring myself at the same time. Will it become easier? I had no clue.
“I just don’t want you to do something you will both regret or get hurt from later. I care about you both. And my only wish for you is to be happy,” he said sincerely to both of us.
“We will do our very best to make this work for us both,” promised alpha Klaus.
“Sara?” I called to her in a small voice. Her silence the entire time was worrying me.
She smiled at us and said softly, “I will stand behind whatever you decide. I have a feeling that you two getting married is the right decision for both of you and for the pack as well.”
I sigh inwardly in relief. I was worried about their reaction since last night. While Joseph voiced his concerns, he eventually agreed. And Sara supported us from the beginning.
“So, when are we having a Luna wedding?” asked Sara excitedly.
“Wait, a what wedding?” I gulped in horror as several things dawned on me.
By marrying alpha Klaus, I will become Luna of the pack, and a wolf-less Luna at that. Am I fit to be a Luna for a ma*s*sive pack like the Crescent Moon? What is even required of a Luna in the first place? I had no idea. My old pack never had one.
And a Luna wedding? What the hell did that involve? I thought we were just going to stand in front of a priest and get married like two normal people. At least that’s what I wanted.
Sara tilted her head and looked at me determinedly, already sensing and anticipating my unease at the idea of a ma*s*sive wedding.
“A Luna wedding Ella. It is a huge thing. And no, you can’t refuse to have one. It’s tradition.”
I pursed my lips and asked carefully, almost a*s*suming the answer beforehand, “What does that entail exactly?”
She said eagerly, “Glad you asked. Well, mainly it’s just like a traditional wedding. A huge hall fit for the whole pack to witness the event. A priest. You walking down the aisle in a dazzling white dress. Vows exchanged with your future husband and the words I do in the end. After that, You and Klaus will stand in front of the whole pack as they vow to always protect and serve their Luna. Finally, a reception with lots of food, drinks, and dancing. That’s it.”
“Really! That’s it! Well now I am relieved, I thought there was more to it,” I said in a dry tone.
I didn’t want any part of it; or the shy, socially awkward part of me didn’t at least. I just wanted something simple. Just the four of us. No wedding ceremony, no white dress, no vows in front of the whole pack. It wasn’t a real wedding in the end.
She gave me a scolding glare that made me cringe on the inside. She could be really scary when she wanted to.
I instantly gave in, “Fine. When will it be?”
The three of them exchanged looks for a few seconds before Sara said “I believe we can have everything ready within three days.”
Wow, that was so damn fast.
“Great, with that settled. Joseph and I need to be somewhere else. We will leave this in your hands, Sara,” said alpha Klaus.
His expression was unreadable throughout the whole wedding conversation. I couldn’t read how he felt about this, but I could presume. He felt nothing. He already had a real wedding with his mate. Whatever this wedding was, it didn’t mean anything to him. Just something that had to be done.
I know it shouldn’t bother me, but I found myself bothered nonetheless.
Don’t overstep your limits, Ella. I reminded myself. There is nothing between us but a mutual understanding and respect, that’s it.
Who would have thought that planning a wedding will take the whole god damn day?
I stayed with Sara until dinner time, planning and discussing every single detail. She seemed so happy with organizing, you would never say she got shot yesterday and had surgery.
By the time Joseph and alpha Klaus came back for dinner, we had finished deciding everything, from the decorations of the hall, the color of dresses for the bridesmaids, the invitations; which were going to be printed tomorrow morning and delivered on the same day, to the food that will be served at the reception.
During that time, Sara had brought over all the people who will be involved in organizing the wedding and told them exactly what had to be done. I mostly just ended up agreeing with her on everything she suggested.
The only thing left for me and Sara tomorrow, was picking out a wedding dress along with all its following accessories. While alpha Klaus and Joseph were responsible for buying him an appropriate suit and our wedding rings.
And speaking of bridesmaids, I finally had a chance to call Linda and Stephanie over and apologize profoundly for getting them scolded by their alpha because of me. They told me that their alpha was right for blaming them; to which I rolled my eyes and practically scolded them myself for saying that.
After that, I asked them to be my bridesmaids and told them I was getting married to alpha Klaus in three days. The weird thing was, they didn’t seem that surprised at all, I even noticed them exchanging a knowing smile before they both hugged me tightly and congratulated me. But before I could ask them about it, Sara called me over to her side to take my opinion on the invitations.
When we sat on the dining table, all four of us for the first time, Sara started talking about all the details she and I made together. I looked at alpha Klaus every now and then to try and catch some sort of expression on his unreadable face, but I couldn’t read anything. He was a complete poker face.
After dinner was over, the most beautiful, heart melting surprise happened. Joseph walked out of the kitchen carrying a birthday cake and a dozen lit candles on top of it.
The three of them started singing happy birthday to me and I felt my heart squeeze so tight with overwhelming emotions.
“Make a wish then blow the candles Ella,” said Sara joyfully.
My wish has already come true. I was surrounded by an amazing family. Family who loved me unconditionally despite who my father was. What more could I wish for?
I wished for things to never change. I wished that I never have to lose them or lose their love for me.
I blew out the candles, wiped away my tears, and hugged Joseph and Sara tightly.
I addressed them all as I said emotionally, “You have no idea how much this really means to me. I never celebrated my birthday before with anyone. I’m extremely grateful for all of you.”
“From now on, we will celebrate this day for years to come,” said Sara cheerfully.
“Now it’s presents time,” said Joseph excitedly as he put two small bags on the table in front of me.
Presents! This day will forever be cherished in my memory. I never received any gift before in my life.
“This one is from Sara and me,” said Joseph tenderly.
I open the bag and find a small wrapped jewelry box inside.
I looked at the most stunning necklace I have ever seen in admiration.
It was a golden sunflower with shiny expensive crystals decorating it.
It looked so expensive. I looked up at Joseph and said shyly, “Oh my god, Joseph. It is so beautiful and breathtaking, but you didn’t have to buy such an expensive gift. You and Sara are the best gift I have ever received. Thank you so much.”
He shook his head and said tenderly, “No Ella, nothing is too expensive for you, believe me. You brought such joy and warmth into our lives. We love you so much. As soon as I laid eyes on the necklace, I instantly thought of you, the sunflower is a symbol of warmth, it reminded me of the warmth I feel whenever I hug you, that’s why I chose it.”
My tears fell as I realized that I wasn’t the only one who felt such emotions whenever I hugged them.
He came closer to me, wiped away my tears tenderly and said in a low voice, “No more crying Ella. I don’t want to see your tears anymore, I just want to see your lovely smile and laughter from now on. Happy birthday” and then he kissed me longingly on the forehead.
I closed my eyes and savored that affectionate touch.
“Ok, I am curious to see what Klaus bought for you, go ahead open it,” said Sara excitedly as she handed me the other bag.
I was rather surprised that he took the time to buy me a gift. I looked up at him and saw him looking at me softly, a little touched with the scene that unfolded before him.
I opened another wrapped box, and saw a small perfume bottle. I opened the lid, sprayed a little perfume on my wrist, and smelled it.
My eyebrows furrowed as the smell felt familiar to me. It took me a second to place it. It smelled exactly like my hair conditioner that I started using after I came to this pack. I loved the smell of that conditioner so much since the first time I tried it. It smelled like red roses.
I looked up at him in wonder. Was that a coincidence? That he chose a rose perfume just like the smell of my conditioner? I couldn’t tell from his face, but I had a feeling that it was no coincidence.
That little trivial detail about me that caught his attention, sent little b*tterflies to soar inside my chest.
“Thank you so much, Red roses is my favorite smell,” I said slyly hoping my hidden meaning; that I knew he bought that specific perfume on purpose, would reach him.
He smiled, gave me a small nod, and said gently, “You’re welcome. I’m so glad you like it.”
I reach my hand over to Sara and let her smell the perfume.
“Oh, it’s very nice. Good choice Klaus,” she said to him proudly.
He gave her a weird look I couldn’t fathom; as if she said something to him through the mind link, before changing the subject “Are we going to eat that cake or what?”
I went back to my room that night, my cheeks hurting from how deep and often I was smiling the entire evening. It was the most perfect dinner I have ever had.
It almost made me forget my concern over my wedding and marriage that was taking place after three days.